Press2

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: FOUNDRY42

Beneath a soaring ceiling stands a flannel-clad barista steaming a latte. A mounted buck, surrounded by thunderstorm-gray walls and a golden frame, holds court on the opposing wall. The room is awash in similar funky signage, handmade furniture, and art. Shoppers peruse these heirloom odds and ends scored by the constant whistling of the espresso machine. There’s a very Brooklyn-comes-home feel here at Foundry42 — a Port Jervis lifestyle shop that started serving coffee and baked delicacies in November.

Cooper Boone, a food- and design-loving singer/songwriter, has been a major force behind the whole operation. He was splitting his time between New York and Nashville, but when he and husband Mark Veeder had twin girls in 2014, he decided to move north full-time, and helped found the Orange County shop’s space. “Architecturally, Port Jervis is beautiful. It’s always had good bones, but it doesn’t make sense why it hasn’t flourished,” notes Boone. “It’s the last stop on NJ Transit, right off of highway 84, and some 15,000 cars go by every day. We really believed there’s a significant opportunity there.”

The shop features furniture (developed by Boone and artisan-designer Victor Salib) made of reclaimed wood, rolls of antique cloth, and locally made accessories. The cafe serves coffee from Minnesota, where the beans are roasted for the shop and shipped directly. “We have amazing, amazing curated coffee,” says Boone, “and signature baked goods. That’s it. No more, no less; no breakfast, no lunch. Just great baked goods.”

There are the “chip-chip cookies,” a sweet and salty concoction incorporating crunchy potato chips and chocolate morsels, and scones that are light and crumbly, dotted with currants. Boone also creates mini flourless chocolate cakes along with brownies that are dense and moist. Muffins are the only menu offering not made in-house.

Unlike many Valley venues, the baked goods here don’t depend so much upon what’s in season, but are rooted in Boone’s mood. “It’s not based on harvest. It’s based upon always wanting to make something new and different and fresh and interesting.”

Boone sees the business as “a trio of my selves living in one building: food, design, and, upstairs, a multi-functional event space.” While the main floor hosts the aforementioned crafts of all sorts and, of course, the lattes, the upper level is being converted into an event space that can be used for everything from music and kids’ dance classes to yoga sessions and weddings. Suddenly, everything is a mash-up of new and old again — innovation, construction, coffee, and a town angling for a comeback.